Lake Bell
Bell in June 2009
Born	March 24, 1979 (1979-03-24) (age 30) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2001 – present

Lake Bell (born March 24, 1979) is an American actress.

Early life

Bell was born in New York City, the daughter of Robin Bell, owner of the design firm Robin Bell Design, Inc. in New York,¹ and Harvey Siegel. Bell has stated that her father is Jewish and her mother is "a WASP", and that she was raised in a "comically dysfunctional family".² She has an older brother named Luke Siegel who owns a sliding wall and door company called Raydoor in New York City. She also has two half-sisters, Courtney and Mackenzie.

Bell attended The Chapin School in New York, Westminster School, Connecticut in Simsbury, Connecticut. For part of her teen years, she lived in Vero Beach, Florida³ and attended St. Edward's School. For college, Bell chose Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York before transferring to Rose Bruford College in London, England. There, she landed roles in several theatrical productions, including The Seagull and The Pentecost. She remained in London for a year after graduating, then relocated to Los Angeles, California.

Career

Bell landed her first big job with the lead female role in NBC's War Stories, also starring Jeff Goldblum. She made two guest appearances on ER in 2002, then went on to play Alicia Silverstone's wisecracking best friend, Victoria, in NBC's short-lived series Miss Match. In 2004, Bell made her debut as Sally Heep in The Practice, and her character was carried over into the series offshoot, Boston Legal, where she was made a regular cast member until she left the series in 2005. Bell went on to play the lead role in the sci-fi show Surface, which premiered September 19, 2005, and was cancelled in May 2006.

In the fall of 2006, Bell returned to Boston Legal for two episodes, reprising her role as Sally Heep as opposing counsel to Alan Shore (portrayed by James Spader). Her film work includes Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders (2004), I Love Your Work (2003), Speakeasy (2002), and Slammed (2001). Recent films include: Pride and Glory (2008), which also stars Edward Norton and Colin Farrell. She also has a leading role in the thriller Still Waters (2008), starring opposite Jason Clarke and Clifton Collins, Jr. She co-starred with Paul Rudd and Eva Longoria Parker in the movie Over Her Dead Body, (2008), and also appeared in the 2008 film What Happens in Vegas and 2009's It's Complicated.

Bell appeared on the cover of Page Six magazine's May 11, 2008, issue.

Currently, Lake Bell stars in the new HBO television series How to Make It in America.⁴

References

External links

• Lake Bell at the Internet Movie Database
  • Still Waters at the Internet Movie Database
• Lake Bell at Allmovie
• Childrens' Hospital streaming episodes on theWB